Digest

SOCCER

CSL giant Evergrande reports $274m loss

Guangzhou Evergrande reported a 1.9 billion yuan ($274 million) loss in 2019, according to the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) listed company's annual report released on Wednesday.

The club's operating cost was 2.41 billion yuan ($341 million), with operating revenue of 783 million yuan ($111 million).

Chinese Football Association (CFA) regulations stipulate that topflight clubs' expenses should not exceed $174 million for 2019.

Evergrande won its eighth Chinese Super League title in 2019, with the 2020 season yet to get underway due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Property giant Evergrande Group, which holds a 57 percent stake in the club, has started work on a new 100,000-seat stadium for its team and says it plans to build two more soccer-specific arenas in China.

Maradona hails move to suspend relegation

Diego Maradona, the manager of struggling Argentine club Gimnasia, has praised a decision to suspend relegation from the country's top division until 2022.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) confirmed the move on Tuesday as it canceled the rest of the top-flight season amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The move spares Gimnasia from an almost certain drop to the second division.

"It's not the end that we would have wanted, but it's a good decision," the 1986 World Cup winner told Argentine newspaper Clarin.

"We were convinced that we were going to avoid relegation anyway. But this is reward for a group that has given everything for this club."

Gimnasia needed a strong showing in the Superliga Cup to have any chance of remaining in the top tier under Argentina's complex promotion-relegation system that considers results over a three-year cycle. The Cup competition was aborted last month after just one round.

BOXING

New Delhi stripped of world championships

The 2021 Men's World Boxing Championships have been moved to Belgrade from New Delhi, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) said on Tuesday.

In a statement, AIBA said it had terminated New Delhi's contract after it did not pay an agreed host fee, meaning that India will have to pay a cancellation penalty of $500,000.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) blamed AIBA for its inability to pay the host fee, claiming that AIBA's bank account in Lausanne, Switzerland, had been "frozen".

"AIBA could not resolve these issues," Indian media quoted the BFI as saying.

"We have reasons to believe that the decision to change the venue of WCH-2021 was taken in haste without due consultation with BFI... the penalty that is imposed is shocking and surprising."

ATHLETICS

Kenya welcomes Coe's coronavirus relief fund

Kenya has welcomed a $500,000 global fund, which World Athletics launched on Tuesday to help athletes out financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Athletics Kenya president Jack Tuwei said the move will help bail out athletes who are most effected by the lack of competition with a complete lockdown of sports competitions globally.

"Certainly this fund will cushion them (athletes) from the effects of this virus. Every sector needs help and we thank World Athletics for coming up with such an initiative for athletes," Tuwei said in Nairobi.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the fund would be used to assist athletes who have lost most of their income in the last few months due to the virus-enforced suspension of international competition

"I am in constant contact with athletes around the world and I know that many are experiencing financial hardship as a consequence of the shutdown of most international sports competition in the last two months," said Coe.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Fan's $800K bid earns dinner with Brady

A fan has won the chance to have dinner, or work out, with NFL superstar Tom Brady as well as a pack of Tampa Bay Buccaneers opening-game tickets and memorabilia after a making winning bid of $800,000 at a fundraising auction.

The auction reached the top bid on Tuesday as part of a series of celebrity and athlete offerings in the 'All In Challenge' fundraiser to help feed those in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

Other auction items include a round of golf and dinner with twice NFL Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning, which attracted a $525,000 bid, and a day of activities with Hall of Fame basketball great Magic Johnson that had a high bid of nearly $100,000.

BASKETBALL

Kerr: Warriors treating season as if it's done

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said on Tuesday that his team is operating as if its season is over.

"It feels like the offseason," Kerr said on a video conference call coordinated by the University of San Francisco.

"And in fact we had a Zoom call, (general manager) Bob Myers and I got on a Zoom with our players, our whole roster last week.

"And it was just a chance to check in, but it was also a chance for Bob to update the players on his contact with the league and the latest news, but it also kind of felt like our annual team exit meeting.

"Our coaching staff and I have been undergoing staff evaluations, offseason plans, so we are absolutely in offseason mode right now."

Kerr added that while teams in playoff contention are trying to keep their teams focused in the event of the season resuming, his club－last in the NBA at 15-50 and the only team officially eliminated from contention－has moved on.

Xinhua - Agencies